USA Today
A Ratings Drop with Encouraging Signs
It doesn't take much more than being trampled by a bad team with a quarterback who isn't passing the ball to reduce your status in the NFL.
The Bears found that out this week as their miserable performance at trying to stop the run and trying to get into the end zone in the red zone left them falling in the NFL power rankings.
There was a ray of sunshine, though, and Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr captured it well despite the Bears being ranked 26th this week in the SI poll. He was watching the Bears game with the Giants live and made this observation.
"It ain’t perfect. But if Chicago can figure out a way to get rubber on the road, and get him into a flow where his reads and athleticism and arm strength all seem to match up? Watch out."
If a 20-12 defeat could bring anything to lift the spirits of Bears fans, that has to be it.
Here are this week's Bears power rankings.
Sports Illustrated: 26th
Down three spots from last week after their 20-12 loss, the Bears season seems bleak but Orr's impression of Fields has to provide some encouragement. Fields was being criticized still after the game but Orr calls Fields "something else." If the Bears ever start to get him time and receivers open consistently, the offense could expand.
NFL.Com: 30th
They fell three spots but again a somewhat encouraging review of Fields from Dan Hanzus. But he also concludes: "Matt Eberflus finds himself in a difficult situation: Fields represents the possible future of the Bears organization, but he’s been unable to lead the offense with any efficiency. The new coach is tied to the young QB in his debut season, for better or worse."
ESPN: 28th
ESPN dropped the Bears from 22nd to 28th with beat writer Courtney Cronin pointing out how they've given up 183.3 yards per game on the ground and could be headed for a historically bad season defending the run.
CBS Sports: 25th
They fell just one spot with the loss to New York but Pete Prisco refers to their passing game woes as a potential "...season-long problem."
Fox Sports: 28th
A drop of five spots and David Helman doesn't see the same optimism over their passing game that coach Matt Eberflus did. "It feels problematic that you can look at Justin Fields' stat line from Sunday's loss to the Giants—11-of-22 for 174, no touchdowns and no picks—and feel encouraged," Helman wrote.
USA Today: 31st
Down one spot and Nate Davis provides us with the very insightful and useful comment "Hardly a shock that this team stinks...," while citing poor run defense that everyone saw with their own two eyes. This run performance, by the way, was predicted by BearDigest last week, which never saw the second-half improvement against Houston as a sign they were over these run defense problems. Houston just gave up on the run that game for some reason.
The Sporting News: 25th
Vinnie Iyer dropped them down from No. 19, which was too high anyway, and hit at their red zone offense a bit, which many others failed to do, but definitely missed the boat when he said they spent time "... wasting another strong effort by the defense." He must not have looked at the rushing totals.
Yahoo Sports: 29th
They dropped from 28th and Justin Fields was roundly criticized by Frank Schwab for saying he didn't care about stats. Saying you don't care about stats really does miss the point of what they're about. They're a reflection of how the passing game is working. And it hasn't been working. But criticizing the Bears' passing on a day when they finally managed to get some of it to work is also missing the point.
USA Today: 30th
The 238 rushing yards the Bears have are brought up and mentioned as their best effort in a loss in 38 years. This shouldn't be quickly dismissed. It's not easy to get 238 yards in the NFL on the ground and lose. They fell two spots here.
The Ringer: 31st
The Bears fell one spot but the improvement of Fields was noted but Austin Gayle, who appropriately points out: "The bar has to be much higher than that if Chicago is going to climb out of the depths of this list and commit to Fields long-term, but it’s a step in the right direction for Fields truthers and Bears faithful alike."
NBC Sports/PFT: 23rd
Down one spot in these Pro Football Talk rankings. The most amusing but bizarre comment this week came from Mike Florio: "The Bears feel like a team that at any given moment is on the verge of completely imploding." It's a comment so far off base it's worth a chuckle. The Bears within the locker room seem more together than any time since the 2018 season, and all realize their plight as a rebuilding team with a low-budget roster as they attempt to put something together for the future. Imploding and exploding aren't the problem. The real problem is they just sit there doing nothing.
TICKETS TO SEE JUSTIN FIELDS AND THE BEARS THROUGH SI TICKETS
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
